Re: Tell us about your STS-V!

Well I'm Italian but I don't speak Italian. lol. I was born in the USA. Just can't believe you guys don't like Italian cars. Just really amazing. What do you guys think of Shelbys or Corvettes? lol

Or how about Mercedes Benz or BMW?

Wow that's actually inspiring actually and makes me proud to own and drive a Cadillac.

So if I was to go to Italy what suits would you recommend? French I assume? lol

I always thought the best suits made were Italian.

Originally Posted by rodinoma

Well you make a very good point but since my friend is Italian and I, although born in Detroit, grew up in Italy we have never been impressed with Maserati, Ferrari and Lamborghini. Firstly, they are all very unreliable and high-maintenance and secondly and most importantly they are driven by people that you would not want to associate with. These cars, and especially Ferrari and Lamborghini do not have a good reputation in Italy and are extremely rare. You can drive the length and the breadth of the boot without ever seeing a Ferrari. It is for the same reason that any elegant man would not be caught dead in a suit made by Armani - in Italy it is just not cool. Ferraris are for people with more money than sense in the Middle East, China and the USA. The most aspirational car brands for Italians are Audis on the sedan and station wagon side and Porsche on the sports car side. Cadillac is, judging from the reactions I always get, the coolest brand in Italy - unfortunately there are just not that many Cadillacs in circulation. But that is a marketing and pricing problem that Cadillac can and needs to resolve.

Re: Tell us about your STS-V!

Italians love Corvettes and I personally have owned and kept in Italy an '87 C4, an '89 C4, a '92 ZR-1, an '00 C5 and just recently an '08 C6. I will probably buy another yellow Vette in the not too distant future. Shelbys are basically unknown in Italy, but Italy is one of GM's biggest export markets for the Corvette in Europe after Germany, Switzerland and Sweden. FIAT dominated Italy's car market for the thirty years after WWII but Italians have long since realised that the Germans and the Asians make better cars and FIAT's market share has been declining inexorably. The Ferrari and Maserati divisions perform well but like I said previously their sales are concentrated in China, the US, the Middle East and northern Europe. Italy probably ranks fifteenth in terms of sales and it is very rare to see a Ferrari in Italy. Italians are proud of the brand and especially its F1 successes but well educated Italians find the cars too flashy. Pimps and Albanian drug dealers are more likely to drive a Ferrari in Italy.

Mercedes in Italy suffers from the same problem it has in Germany - too many Mercedes taxis. This cheapens the brand quite considerably. BMW is well regarded and sells right alongside Audi. As to your sartorial question no right thinking Italian would ever be caught dead in a French suit - the French do not make good male haberdashery. Most Italians of a certain socio-economic background go to their tailors to have their suits made - much cheaper than buying an off the rack Armani and looks better too. Armani, like Ferrari, is for the Chinese, the Americans and the Arabs.

Cadillacs and Italy were made for each other. If you ever see the movie Dolce Vita you will notice that Cadillacs and Corvettes were the most desirable cars in Italy during the 50s and 60s. GM lost its way in the US in the 70s, 80s and 90s and Italian interest waned alongside it. But they have come back strongly and there is nothing more enjoyable than caning the accelerator pedal on a big torquey Cadillac V8 up an autostrada incline at 140 mph and passing all of these little four-pot Asian and Fiat cars as they labor up the hill. Italy, Germany, Spain and Belgium are four countries in Western Europe where speed limits are not really an issue and you can drive to your hearts content. But its not about furtively reaching the top speed and decelerating quickly. It is about looking at the map and seeing that Naples is 200 kilometers (120 miles) away from Rome and realising that you can get there in a little over an hour door-to-door, head for Da Michele for the best pizza in the world and be back in Rome in time for your afternoon cocktail. That is what it is all about.

Re: Tell us about your STS-V!

I am in Miami right now. When I get back to Europe Ill forward photos of the STS-V. Because of its clear tail lenses and amber turn signals it has a different look. It also has two rear fog lights where the grille is on the US version.

Re: Tell us about your STS-V!

I'm in SoCal and I purchased my silver with black interior 07 STS-V 1/21/12 in Arizona. It had 52k on it. Now that I've satisfied Ca State DMV regs and had the car inspected and smog checked I started some mods. I installed D3 Stage I & II intake, and 160 degree thermostat. I installed a Dynomax exhaust system cats to tail pipe. I fab'd and installed the system in my drive-way. It was an all day project but the car sounds great however quiet. Exhaust parts include;

Re: Tell us about your STS-V!

Yeah Yikes I'm just gettin warmed up..... I already bought a D3 overdrive crank pulley (got it before I saw the info on TimmyC), and I'm waiting for my frozenboost heat exchanger and Jabsco coolant pump... should be here in a few days...

Re: Tell us about your STS-V!

Wow i love my sts v im in newyork i must have the only one here because atleast once a day some random person is given me compliments or asking how fast it goes and its still stock just a stage 1 intake and a gibson exhaust . I love the fact that its so rare i wish their were others in nyc so we can go to meets and trade ideas

Re: Tell us about your STS-V!

I probably should have posted here first.

I just picked up a Light Platinum '06 V with 37k last week. It's a long story on how I got here - cliffs notes are:
I wanted a CTS-V.
Decided to save some coin.
Looked at less expensive cars.
Test drove an STS-V.
Didn't buy it - fear of the Northstar and still holding out for CTS-V
Waited and researched a few months.
Found cleaner, lower mileage STS-V.
Bought it.

Overall I'm very happy with it. I love the ride, the interior, the power. My plans are minimal - I've been down the modding road before and just want to keep this simple. Intake (Spectre or TimmyC), Wait4Me tune, lower it, tint and wheels.

I'll try to get some pics up soon but it looks like every other silver V right now